Movable barrier for use at the entrance to a parking site or the like

ABSTRACT

A device forming a movable barrier, for use in particular at the entrance of a parking place, wherein the improvement consists in that said barrier is hinged substantially at ground level in such a way that it can be lowered into an open horizontal position to allow free passage to vehicles over said barrier and can be lifted into and locked in a substantially vertical position to close the access to the parking place.

United States Patent Renaux 1 Aug. 7, 1973 [54] MOVABLE BARRIER FOR USE AT THE 1,028,566 6/1912 Gardner 49/131 ENTRANCE o A PARKING SITE OR THE 2,778,133 1/1957 Story 49/49 X 7 3,673,734 7/1972 Goldberg .7 49/35 X LIKE Inventor: Georges Renaux,

Fontenay-sous-Bois, France Assignee: Societe anonyme des Elablissements Trougaunat, Voujours, France Filed: Dec. 29, 1971 Appl. No.1 213,634

Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 31, 1970 France 7047555 US. Cl 49/35, 49/131, 49/394 Int. Cl E0lf 13/00 Field of Search 49/49, 35, 131, 132,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1956 Genoe 49/131 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 410,035 10/1966 Switzerland 49/394 Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor Attorney-Ernest A. Greenside et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A device forming a movable barrier, for use in particu lar at the entrance of a parking place, wherein the improvement consists in that said barrier is hinged substantially at ground level in such a way that it can be lowered into an open horizontal position to allow free passage to vehicles over said barrier and can be lifted into and locked in a substantially vertical position to close the access to the parking place.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED 7 W5 3. 750,331

sum 2 OF 2 HIE. 7.

I 9 g I 15 I w I MOVABLE BARRIER FOR USE AT THE ENTRANCE TO A PARKING SITE OR THE LIKE The present invention relates to and has essentially for its object a device consisting of a movable barrier which can be used, for example, at the entrance to a specially reserved area, such as a parking site.

In existing barrier devices of this type it is necessary to manipulate some of their parts, e.g. stakes, whenever a user wishes to park his vehicle.

The present invention provides a simple and reliable device which forms a movable barrier requiring no special effort to be operated.

To provide this, the barrier in accordance with the invention is hinged substantially at ground level so that it can be lowered into a horizontal position when not in use, to give free passage of vehicles over it, and can be lifted and locked in a substantially vertical position to prevent them passing.

According to another feature of the invention, the barrier described consists essentially of a cross-bar supported by at least one vertical upright pivoted at its base in a socket fixed to the ground and of an oblique stay connected to the said cross-bar and located in a plane perpendicular to it, the said oblique stay being hinged to the ground and to the said cross-bar respectively at its opposite ends and its length being variable to suit the actual position of the barrier.

According to another feature of the invention the oblique stay consists of two telescopic portions with means of locking the same to each other.

According to another feature of the invention, the said locking device may be a safety lock, the barrel of which is removable and acts as a detachable locking According to another feature of the invention, the hinge pins of the uprights at ground level are inserted in clevises supported by a base-plate.

The invention will be better understood and other objects, characteristics and advantages thereof will appear as the following description proceeds, with reference to the appended drawings given solely by way of example illustrating one form of embodiment of the invention and wherein FIG. 1 is a front view of a barrier according to the invention, in the raised position;

FIG. 2 is a section on the line IIII in FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a top view of the barrier in FIG. 1, in the lowered position FIG. 4 is a section on line IV-IV in FIG. 3

FIG. Sis a view of the foot of one upright along line V in FIG. 3

FIG. 6 is a section on line VIVI in FIG. 5

FIG. 7 shows a set of three parking areas each fitted with a barrier according to the invention.

Referring to the attached drawings, and especially to FIG. I, it is seen that the barrier consists chiefly of an upper cross-bar l which is supported by three uprights 2, 3 and 4. The upper cross-bar 1 and the two uprights 2 and 4 form an arch-like structure, which may with advantage consist of tubes. The uprights 2 and 4 of the said arch-like structure are hinged to a socket fixed to the ground. The upright 3 is an oblique stay connected to the middle of cross-bar I through a sleeve 5. The stay 3 is hinged both to a base fixed to the ground and to cross-bar 1, through sleeve 5. Stay 3 which lies in a plane at right angles to that of the barrier has two tubular telescopic parts 6 and 7 so that its length can be adjusted to suit the actual position of the barrier. It will be of advantage if parts 1, 2 and 4 are of cylindrical tube, while parts 6 and 7 of the oblique stay 3 are of rectangular-section tube. The outer part 6 of stay 3 is permanently fixed at its top to sleeve 5 and has a locking device 10 with which the tubular parts 6 and 7 can be locked or unlocked with respect to each other to allow the barrier to be opened or closed as described below. The locking device 10 may with advantage consist of a safety lock, the barrel of which is removable and acts as a detachable locking pin. The two supports 2 and 4 of the barrier and also the oblique stay 3 are hinged at ground level to a socket 9 fitted with a pivot pin 8. When the barrier is in the closed position, i.e. when it is raised, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, i.e. when the two telescopic parts 6 and 7 are locked by pin 10, the top of the inner part 7 abuts against sleeve 5. In this position the barrier comprising cross-bar 1 and supports 2 and 4 is vertical and the oblique stay 3 has a minimal length. The sockets or feet 9 fixed to the ground will be described in reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Each foot 9 consists of a base-plate 14 which is in direct contact with the ground, and of a clevis II with two cheeks l2 and 13 through which passes the hinge-pin 8. To show this arrangement more clearly, the positions of the tubular parts 7, 4 and 2 are indicated by broken lines in FIG. 5. Base-plate 14 is welded to grouting lugs 17 at points 15 and 16 in line with the centre-line of pivot pin 8. This ensures that the feet 9 are firmly fixed to the ground.

When a user arrives with his vehicle at the entrance to his private parking area, which is closed by the barrier according to the invention, he has only to unlock the safety lock 10 with his own key, withdraw the barrel and pull the whole barrier towards him, i.e. away from the reserved area. The three uprights 2, 3 and 4 swing outward on pivots 8 and feet 9 while sleeve 5 pivots round cross-bar l and part 7 slides over part 6 so that the length of the stay 3 increases until the whole of the barrier lies practically in a horizontal plane on the ground level. In this lowered position (FIG. 3) the barrier is open and the vehicle can enter the private parking area by passing over the barrier. It should be noted that it will be desirable, in order not to reduce the useful parking area 18 without encroaching upon the public road 19, to arrange the barrier in such a way that the oblique stay 3 is within the limits of the private area 18, while the barrier is located at the boundary between this private area 18 and the public road 19. To prevent access to area 18, the user must lift the barrier into a substantially vertical position and lock the telescopic parts 6 and 7 of stay 3 in the position shown in FIG. 2, so as to close the barrier.

It will be easily seen that the device described re quires only a mere opening or closing operation and does not call .for any physical effort on the user's part.

The device is also reliable and easy to mount, and it is practically impossible for a person not in possession of the key to lock 10 to open it. Even if lock 10 is forced, parts 6 and 7 of stay 3 remain fixed and cannot slide, and therefore the barrier cannot be opened.

Although the device in accordance with the invention has been described and shown here in the form of an arch-like structure with an oblique stay at the middle, other and even simpler forms of barriers can be devised without difficulty, while retaining the same advantages.

It is understood that the invention is in no way limited to the form of embodiment described and illustrated which is given purely as an example. In particular, it comprises means constituting technical equivalents to the means described and combinations thereof, if these comply with the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A movable barrier adapted for positioning in blocking or accessible relation to a predetermined area, said barrier comprising at least one elongated upright, a socket secured to the ground and formed with means for pivotally mounting one end of said upright for movement of said upright between a first substantially horizontal and a second substantially vertical position, a cross-bar fixed to an end of said elongated upright opposite said one end and extending laterally therefrom, an adjustable length stay operatively mounted at one of its ends, to said cross bar for pivotal movement relative thereto in laterally spaced relation to said opposite end of said upright, the opposite end of said stay being laterally spaced from and in off-set relation to said one end of said upright and being mounted by means separate from said socket for pivotal movement relative to the ground, said stay, in said first position of said upright, lying in a substantially horizontal plane together with said upright and said crossbar and, in said second position of said upright, being obliquely related to said upright and to said cross-bar.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said adjustable length stay comprises telescopically related parts, and means for locking said telescopically related parts together when said upright is in said second position thereof;

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said means for locking said parts together comprise a safety lock having a removable barrel acting as an extractable locking pin.

4. A device according to claim I, wherein a second upright is provided which is also pivotally mounted at one of its ends and forming with said first-named upright and said cross-bar an archlike structure, said one end of said stay being mounted for pivotal movement relative to said cross-bar by a sleeve carried by the cross-bar for rotary movement relative thereto.

* i 1 i i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (.ERTI'Fi'("l/\'i7ii1 0E5 (IORECTWN Patent No. ,750,331 Dated August 7, 1973 Inventor s) GEORGES RENAUX It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

0N FRONT EAcE OF PATENT, LEFT HAND QOLUMN; ITEM 73,

CHANGE "TRQUGAUNAT'" to --TR0UG0UNAT CHANGE "VOUJOURSU to .--VAUJOURS--.

Signed and sealed this 27th day of November 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.PLETCHER,JR. lRENE D. TEGTMEYER Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents F P0405) 3? qscoMM-oc BD376-P69 a gs {SOVERNMENT PRINTI G OFFICE: I969 o-ass-ss n. 

1. A movable barrier adapted for positioning in blocking or accessible relation to a predetermined area, said barrier comprising at least one elongated upright, a socket secured to the ground and formed with means for pivotally mounting one end of said upright for movement of said upright between a first substantially horizontal and a second substantially vertical position, a cross-bar fixed to an end of said elongated upright opposite said one end and extending laterally therefrom, an adjustable length stay operatively mounted at one of its ends, to said cross bar for pivotal movement relative thereto in laterally spaced relation to said opposite end of said upright, the opposite end of said stay being laterally spaced from and in offset relation to said one end of said upright and being mounted by means separate from said socket for pivotal movement relative to the ground, said stay, in said first position of said upright, lying in a substantially horizontal plane together with said upright and said cross-bar and, in said second position of said upright, being obliquely related to said upright and to said cross-bar.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said adjustable length stay comprises telescopically related parts, and means for locking said telescopically related parts together when said upright is in said second position thereof.
 3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said means for locking said parts together comprise a safety lock having a removable barrel acting as an extractable locking pin.
 4. A device according to claim 1, wherein a second upright is provided which is also pivotally mounted at one of its ends and forming with said first-named upright and said cross-bar an archlike structure, said one end of said stay being mounted for pivotal movement relative to said cross-bar by a sleeve carried by the cross-bar for rotary movement relative thereto. 